BRIDPORT - School has been been canceled for the rest of the week in Bridport after about 80 of the 130 students and staff either called in or went home sick.

The Vermont Health Department is investigating after the illnesses were reported Wednesday at the Bridport Central School. The district canceled school on Thursday and Friday while the building is sanitized.

Symptoms included diarrhea and vomiting and could be caused by the Norovirus, also known as stomach flu, infectious disease epidemiologist Bradley Tompkins told WCAX-TV (http://bit.ly/XRpb6r ) reported.

"This is certainly the environment where Norovirus can easily spread where there are children and a lot of touching of objects," Tompkins said.

Corey Pratt, owner of Pratt's Store, near the the preschool-through-sixth-grade school, said his wife and 11-year-old daughter were sick.

"To have that many in such a short period of time is scary and hopefully they can figure out what the problem is," he said.

The Health Department was testing samples from those who were sick to determine if Norovirus was the cause.